Real Madrid put their title defence back on track with a comfortable 3-1 win over Real Sociedad at Anoeta on Sunday, despite missing several key players. Sociedad defender Kevin Rodrigues scored at both ends and Borja Mayoral and Gareth Bale netted Madrid's other goals to help them equal the consecutive scoring record of 73 games set by Pele's Santos between 1961 and 1963.
Barcelona named former Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde on Monday as the successor to Luis Enrique and he will take charge of the La Liga runners-up on a two-year contract.
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Red Star, who won the European Cup in 1991 and reached the latter stages the following season, finished second in Group H behind Arsenal who crushed BATE Borisov 6-0.
Jose Callejon took advantage of Napoli's numerical advantage in the 48th minute of the playoff round second leg tie, handing them an away goal which, added to their 2-0 win from the first leg, effectively ended Nice's challenge as it left the French side needing to score four goals.
Barca must beat Villareal on the weekend if they are to stand a chance of overhauling Real in the run in.
La Liga's reputation as the epicenter of world soccer talent has been bruised by the world record smashing sale of Neymar to Paris St Germain and how Barcelona react to the departure of one of their leading players will define the new season in Spain.
Real Madrid lifted the FIFA Club World Cup for a record fourth time on Saturday after thrashing local side Al Ain 4-1 in the final in Abu Dhabi with the help of impressive distance strikes in either half from midfielders Luka Modric and Marcos Llorente.
Barcelona's Bojan Krkic scored twice in a 4-1 home win over Athletic Bilbao that put his side three points clear at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge was substituted with a thigh injury as the English Premier League club beat Bayern Munich 3-0 in a pre-season match in Germany on Tuesday.
Barcelona gave Pep Guardiola a fitting end to his glittering four-year reign as coach winning the King's Cup final against Athletic Bilbao 3-0 on Friday to send him off with a 14th trophy under his arm.
Manchester City tightened their stranglehold at the top of the Premier League on Wednesday by trouncing bottom club West Bromwich Albion 3-0 as nearest rivals Manchester United suffered a chastening 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
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Brazilian defender Filipe Luis scored for the second game running as Atletico Madrid beat Real Sociedad 1-0 on Tuesday to rack up a fifth straight win in La Liga and provisionally consolidate third place in the standings.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid went five points clear at the top of La Liga after coming through a testing game at Athletic Bilbao to win 2-1 thanks to Brazilian midfield lynchpin Casemiro's strike on Saturday.
Unzue is one of the two leading candidates to succeed Luis Enrique, who announced this month he will leave at the end of this season, along with Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde.
Real fought back after a calamitous own goal from keeper Keylor Navas gave Betis the lead in the 25th minute, just after the Costa Rican escaped a possible red card. Cristiano Ronaldo pulled the hosts level in the 41st with a diving header.
Arsenal led a list of nine clubs who grabbed a second win in as many games in the Europa League group phase as France striker Olivier Giroud scored his 100th goal for the club in a 4-2 win at BATE Borisov on Thursday.
'I haven't lost any strength in the last four days and in one sense I feel a little relieved but focused on the objectives we set for ourselves at the start of the season'
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand took a decisive step towards his second big title of the year after drawing with Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine in the fifth and penultimate round of the Final Masters.
'I've been here 20 years and many times had the opportunity to leave. I don't have to convince you my preference has always been Arsenal'
The clinical Argentine Messi now has 11 goals in his last five games in all competitions and with record signing Ousmane Dembele injured and Luis Suarez rested, he put on a sensational show at Camp Nou to extend Barcelona's La Liga lead.
Valverde's knowledge of Barca and his many years of experience of coaching in Spain saw him pip Argentine Jorge Sampaoli and Luis Enrique's assistant Juan Carlos Unzue to the top job.
Barcelona midfielder Rafinha has broken his nose and could miss their King's Cup semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday as well as the first match of their Champions League tie with Paris St Germain on February 14.
Three goals in a devastating nine-minute spell at the start of the second half saw Barcelona to a 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao in the King's Cup final on Wednesday and the first of three possible titles.
'We want to play football and not roulette, which is what this type of refereeing provokes. The penalty claims by Neymar and me are clear but we already know how this works'
Silva struck twice in the second half to further stretch the 2010 World Cup winners' lead after Barcelona's Jordi Alba had fired them into the lead in the sixth minute and Alvaro Morata had doubled their advantage midway through the first half.
Real are unbeaten since February, winning 10 of their last 12 games. In contrast, Barcelona have won just two of their previous five in all competitions and were dumped out of Europe in midweek.
Lopetegui blends youth and experience in Spain World Cup squad
Barcelona must appreciate matching the club's record of nine wins and a draw in their first 10 games of a Liga campaign, especially after Real Madrid's defeat at Girona, coach Ernesto Valverde told a news conference on Monday.
Lionel Messi netted two late goals as champions Barcelona thrashed Sevilla 4-0 on Saturday to stretch their advantage over second-placed Real Madrid at the top of La Liga to five points.
Jeremy Mathieu grabbed a late winner for Valencia to put them third in La Liga as they overcame 10-man Athletic Bilbao 2-1 away on Sunday.
Underlying tensions mean Luis Enrique will not be remembered with the same reverence as Pep Guardiola, even though he has delivered a similar trophy haul.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A mesmeric Lionel Messi helped Barcelona to come from behind and beat Sevilla 2-1 in a thrilling encounter on Sunday as the champions kept the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who saw off Leganes 3-0 thanks to a double from Gareth Bale.
The game against Carlsen was no problem although. Anand employed the Slav defense and faced the exchange variation, kept Carlsen's pieces at bay and exchanged at regular intervals to reach a balanced position where the draw was agreed to after just 29 moves. Topalov played a fine technical game to beat Ivanchuk who played black. The Semi-Slav defense by Ivanchuk did not help much as Topalov gained a small but lasting advantage after trading the queens in the midd
Viswanathan Anand was still looking for his first win as he drew his fifth game in six rounds at the Chess Grand Slam Final in Bilbao, Spain. The world champion, who defends his world title next month, drew with Vassily Ivanchuk in 32 moves.
Cristiano Ronaldo is angry with his recent record in front of goal but not anxious about when he will find the net next, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said on Friday.
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